# So, how'd the bat get into my daughter's room? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411 "2011-06-05T18:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/1 "2011-06-05T18:02:02Z")
So, there I am outside doing whatever and my daughter comes up and tells me that there’s a bat in her room sitting on Patrick - her big stuffed dog. Obviously, she’s completely imagining things, but I go inside and check and sure enough, there’s a bat in there. I go out and grab some big gloves and a butterfly habitat for it, but it turns out to be dead. No damage that I could see, just sitting there completely stiff. Which is too bad, I even built a bat house in back right above my fence. Ironically, of course, I haven’t seen any in it yet. Yesterday we’d intended to go to Jellystone Park and spend the night out there, but seeing as how the area hit 101 degrees we decided that we weren’t masochistic enough to stay in a tent. We’d left our back door open, but the screen door closed since the screen door has a doggie door in it. If we’d stayed overnight the dogs would have been able to make it out. Thing is, before we left we’d closed all the bedroom doors. It would have been easy for something the size of a bat to slip under the door, but if it had done so it would have done it with two dogs relatively nearby. Other than that, though, I don’t see any possibilities of how it could have gotten in. Maybe through the attic and then through the vent I’d thought, but the trunk line feeding the vent looked pretty tightly connected. The window to her room never gets opened, and I’m pretty sure the screen on it can’t. Her bedroom is as far as you can get from a doorway in the house except for the master bedroom. It’s always possible that it was in the house longer, maybe even in that room. If so, though, it still would have had to come in through the doggie door or when someone was actively walking through a doorway. Any ideas? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/2 "2011-06-05T18:05:48Z")
Maybe it came from the belfry? Or more seriously, could it have been dead already and brought in by one of the dogs? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/3 "2011-06-05T18:07:03Z")
Bats nesting under your roof, and one slipped through a small hole somewhere in the ceiling? Bats are basically mice with wings, and mice can slip through smaller gaps than you’d think. I hate to be alarmist, but you might want to call your local Animal Control or Natural Resources and ask if the bat should be tested for rabies, and what to do from there. The bat was quite possibly ill from something. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/4 "2011-06-05T18:20:37Z")
Not sure if this would apply to your house, but I grew up in VT and each summer we would discover several bats flying around the house and every fall before it started to get cold we would have our furnace professionally cleaned and the person doing the cleaning would always find several bat carcasses inside the heating ducts. The most likely explanation was that the bats were coming in through the furnace chimney, and those small enough would enter the house by squeezing through the holes in the heating register. As Ferret Herder said, bats can slip through almost any opening (they can retract their wings, making them look almost exactly like mice). In fact, I once found a live bat hanging on the back of a framed picture that was hung on a wall. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/5 "2011-06-06T13:27:23Z")
Those damn Twilight novels. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/6 "2011-06-06T13:34:42Z")
One of the most traumatic (but hilarious, in retrospect) experiences of my young childhood was when a live bat got into my and my sister’s shared upstairs bedroom and flew around in circles, squeaking madly and flapping frantically, until my dad caught it–poor thing! We had no idea how it got in, either, though. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/7 "2011-06-06T21:34:58Z")
I am scared of two things: mice and bats. I’d never sleep again. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/8 "2011-06-07T01:17:25Z")
My first thought from reading the title only was… Her boyfriend left it there, but I wonder why he brought his cricket bat when he snuck in? Then I read the post and realised your daughter is too young for that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/9 "2011-06-07T02:28:30Z")
[All I could think of](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8bnER7kl1Q&feature=related)…sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/10 "2011-06-07T02:41:39Z")
Bats can be nearly soundless on the wing. Could one have slipped in when you opened the door for yourself or the dog? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/11 "2011-06-07T02:47:19Z")
_Please_ take the dead bat to your local animal control department and have it tested for rabies. Inspect all members of your family for bite marks, and be prepared to be subjected to the rabies vaccine even if you don’t find anything. Bat bites can be quite small and easily overlooked. It could have bitten any one of you while you were sleeping and you might not notice. The fact that it proceeded to die in your house is a big warning sign. I don’t mean to alarm you, but please do not ignore this. > [@Wikipedia:Rabies](#): > > Awakening to find a bat in the room, or finding a bat in the room of a previously unattended child or mentally disabled or intoxicated person, is regarded as an indication for post-exposure prophylaxis. The recommendation for the precautionary use of post-exposure prophylaxis in occult bat encounters where there is no recognized contact has been questioned in the medical literature, based on a cost-benefit analysis.[23] However, recent studies have further confirmed the wisdom of maintaining the current protocol of precautionary administering of PEP in cases where a child or mentally compromised individual has been left alone with a bat, especially in sleep areas, where a bite or exposure may occur while the victim is asleep and unaware or awake and unaware that a bite occurred. This is illustrated by the September 2000 case of a nine-year old boy from Quebec who died from rabies three weeks after being in the presence of a sick bat, even though there was no apparent report of a bite; as shown in the following conclusion made by the doctors involved in the case: > > Despite recent criticism (45), the dramatic circumstances surrounding our patient’s history, as well as increasingly frequent reports of human rabies contracted in North America, support the current Canadian guidelines which state that RPEP [PEP] is appropriate in cases where a significant contact with a bat cannot be excluded (45). The notion that a bite or an overt break in the skin needs to be seen or felt for rabies to be transmitted by a bat is a myth in many cases.[24] > > It is highly recommended that PEP be administered as soon as possible. Begun with little or no delay, PEP is 100% effective against rabies.[6] In the case in which there has been a significant delay in administering PEP, the treatment should be administered regardless of that delay, as it may still be effective.[22] If there has been a delay between exposure and attempts at treatment, such that the possibility exists that the virus has already penetrated the nervous system, the possibility exists that amputation of the affected limb might thwart rabies, if the bite or exposure was on an arm or leg. This treatment should be combined with an intensive PEP regimen.[citation needed] ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/12 "2011-06-07T03:49:29Z")
Is she dating a vampire? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/13 "2011-06-07T04:04:20Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > _Please_ take the dead bat to your local animal control department and have it tested for rabies. Inspect all members of your family for bite marks, and be prepared to be subjected to the rabies vaccine even if you don’t find anything. > > Bat bites can be quite small and easily overlooked. It could have bitten any one of you while you were sleeping and you might not notice. The fact that it proceeded to die in your house is a big warning sign. > > I don’t mean to alarm you, but please do not ignore this. This. as for how it got in there are any number of ways. One is down your chimney/furnace vent. Many furnaces have openings in the front that are a direct pathway up the exhaust channel. It could have gotten into the attic and then a bathroom vent. But I can’t emphasize enough that a dead bat should be checked for rabies. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/14 "2011-06-07T05:21:13Z")
She came in through the batroom window Protected by a silver spoon ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/15 "2011-06-07T13:31:29Z")
Well, for all the concerned folks I’ll have to dig the thing up and call animal control. On the positive side, we have figured out how it got in. In our guest room there is a small hole in the drywall that I hadn’t fixed yet. I can be reasonably confident that it it came through that hole because my wife’s screams alerted me to the second dead bat. It was stuck partway through the hole. I guess the first one was small enough to squeeze through but the second one wasn’t. So, I’ve now got two bats buried in my back yard that I’ll apparently get to dig up and call animal control on. I’ve now blocked the hole and will be patching the hole correctly this weekend while they’re both out of town. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/16 "2011-06-07T14:35:55Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > second dead bat EEEEEEEK Maybe the first one squashed itself trying to fit, too, but the death was more delayed (or he got cut on a rough edge or something?). I would have been tempted to leave the second one there, if only to prevent future dead bats from entering your home. yeeeeeikes! ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/17 "2011-06-07T14:57:36Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > In our guest room there is a small hole in the drywall that I hadn’t fixed yet. I can be reasonably confident that it it came through that hole because my wife’s screams alerted me to the second dead bat. It was stuck partway through the hole. I guess the first one was small enough to squeeze through but the second one wasn’t. > > So, I’ve now got two bats buried in my back yard that I’ll apparently get to dig up and call animal control on. > > I’ve now blocked the hole and will be patching the hole correctly this weekend while they’re both out of town. > > -Joe if you don’t patch the hole on the outside then they will still be around. if you patch the drywall then they won’t get into the house interior (they don’t chew through buildings like mice) though they may still nest inside the wall cavity. look on the exterior for a hole or crack that is the size of the one in the drywall or bigger. bats are nice creatures though, they eat a thousand of mosquitoes in a night. put up a bat house. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-howd-the-bat-get-into-my-daughters-room/584411/18 "2011-06-09T02:33:42Z")
Are you a policeman? If so, I’m afraid this means your daughter will grow up to be Batgirl.